I haven’t had a job for long. I got my first job the last semester of my senior year of high school, and now I am going into my sophomore year of college this coming fall. A job was something I put off in high school mostly because I simply did not think I had the time to focus on a job, and I didn’t want my grades to suffer. I thought this my first semester of college too, but going into my second semester, I decided it would be valuable to me to have a job with about eight or ten hours a week, and I would get some money in the process.

People talk about school being their job, and of course that is true, but I feel like a lot of college students (not all, some majors are very tough) have enough free time on their hands to take on a job at school or at least during the summer. I do not think it is a bad thing to not have a job while at school and I totally understand why one doesn’t, but I would just like to talk about why a job in general is so valuable.

First, a job gives you responsibility. You have to be somewhere at a certain time (for some it is very early, like my 7 AM shifts last semester) and you have to honor it. You have to work hard, and even when you are tired, be ready to leave work and go to class or an internship or whatever you do after work during the summer or school, you can’t just shut down your day because you’re exhausted. A job is something you stick with, and if you don’t then that is of course fine, but then you lose that job and its income. Second, it gives you a sense of something earned. Growing up I had to do chores to get money around the house, but this was nothing compared to the feeling I get when I earn that paycheck at my coffee shop job at school, or my hosting job at a restaurant here at home. It is honestly a very fulfilling feeling to me, and it makes me manage my money a lot better knowing that I worked hard for the money I have, and I should spend it wisely.

I personally think a job gives you a sense of accomplishment. Of course everyone hates going into work when they would rather be napping (what I would usually rather be doing) or hanging out with friends. And don’t get me wrong, sleep is valuable, but the feeling you get when you finish a hard week of work, at least to me, is pretty fulfilling. I feel like I am doing something that betters my life in some way, and doing it all on my own without the help of my parents.

That is another thing, your parents can’t help you at work. Of course if you work for your parents this is another story, but even then if you mess up it still has to be fixed. This adds a sense of independence I believe to having a job. It is something that you have to figure out without the help of your parents or sadly, you could fail. I don’t say this to scare people, but it is something you must do on your own, and isn’t that what all of us college students are aspiring to do anyways? We are aspiring to be on our own and make our own wealth all while living a good and fulfilling life, so why don’t we start practicing that now?

I feel that if having a job isn’t something you’re looking for, it should be. All of these things add up to an intelligent adult, and that is something everyone strives to be. Everyone needs to learn responsibility and independence before they are forced out into the real world where your parents definitely are not there to help you.

This is only a suggestion, and I don’t think it is bad to not have a job right now. It is just something I think everyone should consider and see as valuable.